{"id":125095,"date":"2019-07-12T20:17:01","date_gmt":"2019-07-13T00:17:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=125095"},"modified":"2019-07-12T20:17:01","modified_gmt":"2019-07-13T00:17:01","slug":"pedogate-epstein-at-the-nexus-of-global-intel-community-child-exploitation-syndicates-billionaire-society-and-vip-culture-that-controls-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=125095","title":{"rendered":"PEDOGATE: Epstein at the nexus of global intel community, child exploitation syndicates, billionaire society and VIP culture that controls the world"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>How Ohio&#8217;s richest man was connected to Jeffrey Epstein, financier turned sex offender<\/h1>\n<p>Jessie Balmert, Cincinnati Enquirer<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"CINCINNATI- Embed Player\" width=\"540\" height=\"350\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" marginheight=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/uw-media.cincinnati.com\/embed\/video\/1694581001?placement=snow-embed\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-1 p-text\">COLUMBUS &#8211;\u00a0Financier Jeffrey Epstein,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cincinnati.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2019\/07\/09\/how-jeffrey-epstein-allegedly-chose-his-sex-trafficking-victims\/1683420001\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-track-label=\"inline|intext|n\/a\">arrested this week on child sex trafficking charges<\/a>, was notoriously secretive about his billionaire client list, disclosing just one prominent name over and over: Leslie H. Wexner, CEO of L Brands and Ohio&#8217;s richest man.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-2 p-text\">Epstein&#8217;s recent arrest has brought to light his once-close relationship with Wexner, the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/profile\/les-wexner\/#1ee337a8e668\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-track-label=\"inline|intext|n\/a\">billionaire founder and CEO of brands like\u00a0Victoria&#8217;s Secret and Bath &amp; Body Works<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">In 1989,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/07\/08\/nyregion\/jeffrey-epstein-nyc-mansion.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-track-label=\"inline|intext|n\/a\">Wexner purchased the seven-story Manhattan mansion<\/a>\u00a0where Epstein has since been accused of sexually assaulting girls in the 2000s. In 1996, a\u00a0woman\u00a0alleges Epstein and his partner sexually assaulted her at Wexner&#8217;s Ohio mansion, according to a federal court affidavit.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-R71nve20aBM\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/26745207a39f8b188b5dbf9a2d9d0e5b13c854df\/c=108-0-3252-2364\/local\/-\/media\/2016\/02\/12\/Cincinnati\/Cincinnati\/635908984604167792-CINCpt-11-07-2014-Enquirer-1-A022--2014-11-06-IMG-AP265959426654.jpg-1-1-5L925M5P-L513420633-IMG-AP265959426654.jpg-1-1-5L925M5P.jpg?width=540&amp;height=405&amp;fit=crop\" alt=\"L Brands CEO Les Wexner, right, was financier Jeffrey Epstein's most prominent client. Wexner is pictured with his wife, Abigail, in 2014.\" width=\"540\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/media\/2016\/02\/12\/Cincinnati\/Cincinnati\/635908984604167792-CINCpt-11-07-2014-Enquirer-1-A022--2014-11-06-IMG-AP265959426654.jpg-1-1-5L925M5P-L513420633-IMG-AP265959426654.jpg-1-1-5L925M5P.jpg\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/4affce369fcaae2b68bbdd59cb9bea8435896b9d\/r=500x351\/local\/-\/media\/2016\/02\/12\/Cincinnati\/Cincinnati\/635908984604167792-CINCpt-11-07-2014-Enquirer-1-A022--2014-11-06-IMG-AP265959426654.jpg-1-1-5L925M5P-L513420633-IMG-AP265959426654.jpg-1-1-5L925M5P.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<h5>L Brands CEO Les Wexner, right, was financier Jeffrey Epstein&#8217;s most prominent client. Wexner is pictured with his wife, Abigail, in 2014.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: AP photo\/Jay LaPrete)<\/span><\/h5>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Wexner, through a spokeswoman, said that he severed all ties with Epstein nearly 12 years ago \u2013 around the time Epstein faced charges for sex crimes in Florida.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Epstein was convicted in 2008 and served 13 months in county jail\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.miamiherald.com\/news\/local\/article220097825.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-track-label=\"inline|intext|n\/a\">as part of a plea deal negotiated by then-U.S. Attorney Andrew Acosta<\/a>, who announced Friday\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cincinnati.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2019\/07\/12\/labor-secretary-alex-acosta-resigned-amid-jeffrey-epstein-fallout\/1681245001\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-track-label=\"inline|intext|n\/a\">he would resign from President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration<\/a>. That deal has since come under scrutiny for cutting off a larger FBI investigation into Epstein.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Before that time, Wexner played a key role in improving\u00a0Epstein&#8217;s prospects as a financier to America&#8217;s elite. In 2003, Epstein\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vanityfair.com\/news\/2003\/03\/jeffrey-epstein-200303\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-track-label=\"inline|intext|n\/a\">described his\u00a0relationship with Wexner to Vanity Fair<\/a>:\u00a0\u201cPeople have said it\u2019s like we have one brain between two of us: each has a side.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"presto-h3\">Property and paintings<\/h3>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The connections between Wexner and Epstein abound. Wexner,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cincinnati.com\/story\/news\/politics\/onpolitics\/2018\/09\/16\/les-wexner-leaves-republican-party\/1329384002\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-track-label=\"inline|intext|n\/a\">a longtime Republican fundraiser who recently left the party out of frustration with Trump<\/a>, became Epstein&#8217;s client in the late 1980s after Epstein left global investment bank, Bear Stearns.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cI think we both possess the skill of seeing patterns,\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vanityfair.com\/news\/2003\/03\/jeffrey-epstein-200303\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-track-label=\"inline|intext|n\/a\">Wexner told Vanity Fair in 2003.\u00a0<\/a>\u201cBut Jeffrey sees patterns in politics and financial markets, and I see patterns in lifestyle and fashion trends.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">In 1989, Wexner\u00a0purchased the 21,000-square foot\u00a0Manhattan townhome for $13.2 million \u2013 the highest recorded sale for that type of property at the time,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1997\/12\/02\/nyregion\/high-cost-of-living-in-history-the-30-million-town-house.html?module=inline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-track-label=\"inline|intext|n\/a\">according to the New York Times.\u00a0<\/a>He then spent\u00a0&#8220;tens of millions on renovations, art and furnishings,&#8221;\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1996\/01\/11\/garden\/home-sweet-elsewhere.html?module=inline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-track-label=\"inline|intext|n\/a\">according to a 1996 Times article.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">But Wexner never lived there. Epstein did.<\/p>\n<div class=\"label\">\n<div class=\"container transparent\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">That&#8217;s one place where federal\u00a0investigators say Epstein groped and sexually assaulted girls after he recruited them to massage him while nude or partially nude. Other alleged assaults occurred at Epstein&#8217;s Palm Beach, Florida, residence. Some of the girls were as young as 14 years old.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">When investigators searched the palatial New York City townhome, they found\u00a0&#8220;hundreds \u2013\u00a0and perhaps thousands \u2013\u00a0of sexually suggestive photographs of fully\u00a0\u2013\u00a0or partially \u2013\u00a0nude females,&#8221;\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/document\/416442943\/U-S-v-Jeffrey-Epstein\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-track-label=\"inline|intext|n\/a\">according to a memo from prosecutors.<\/a>\u00a0Epstein has pleaded not guilty to the charges of sex trafficking.<\/p>\n<div id=\"module-position-R71nve3uLcA\" class=\"story-asset image-asset\">\n<aside class=\"wide single-photo\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/07\/10\/USAT\/6c9f3a78-fe6c-4974-9275-d22e8a497483-GTY_1154618937.JPG?width=540&amp;height=&amp;fit=bounds&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"New York prosecutor Geoffrey Berman announces charges against Jeffrey Epstein on July 8, 2019.\" width=\"540\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/07\/10\/USAT\/6c9f3a78-fe6c-4974-9275-d22e8a497483-GTY_1154618937.JPG\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2019\/07\/10\/USAT\/6c9f3a78-fe6c-4974-9275-d22e8a497483-GTY_1154618937.JPG?width=500&amp;height=333\" \/><\/p>\n<h5>New York prosecutor Geoffrey Berman announces charges against Jeffrey Epstein on July 8, 2019.\u00a0<span class=\"credit\">(Photo: Stephanie Keith\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/h5>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Wexner no longer owns the Manhattan home; it was transferred to a trust that Epstein controls in 2011,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/07\/08\/nyregion\/jeffrey-epstein-nyc-mansion.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-track-label=\"inline|intext|n\/a\">according to a New York Times report<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Epstein played an important role in the development of New\u00a0Albany, a city just east of Columbus where the Wexners reside in their\u00a0Georgian-inspired estate, in the 1990s. At one point, Epstein owned a &#8220;grand house&#8221; nearby,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/nymag.com\/nymetro\/news\/people\/n_7912\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-track-label=\"inline|intext|n\/a\">according to a 2002 New York Magazine article.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">In 2000, Epstein commissioned a $339,000 family portrait\u00a0of Wexner&#8217;s wife, Abigail, and the family&#8217;s four children. But the Wexners weren&#8217;t\u00a0satisfied with the painting \u2013 upset about Abigail&#8217;s expression and the children&#8217;s ages and sizes \u2013\u00a0and refused to pay.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.paed.5275\/gov.uscourts.paed.5275.1.0.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-track-label=\"inline|intext|n\/a\">The artist, Nelson Shanks, sued over payment 2002.<\/a>\u00a0An attorney for the Wexners and Epstein called the painting\u00a0&#8220;impersonal, inaccurate and disturbing.&#8221; The case was settled and dismissed in 2003.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Even though the Wexners severed ties more than a decade ago, Epstein&#8217;s companies made $46 million in donations to Wexner&#8217;s YLK Charitable Fund in 2008 \u2013 an apparent bid to get back into the family&#8217;s good graces,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizenaudit.org\/2009_08_PF\/26-1605864_990PF_200812.pdf\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-track-label=\"inline|intext|n\/a\">according to tax records<\/a>\u00a0first\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2019\/07\/11\/epstein-donated-46-million-to-les-wexners-private-foundation-in-2008.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-track-label=\"inline|intext|n\/a\">reported by CNBC<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"presto-h3\">&#8216;My life was ruined&#8217;<\/h3>\n<p class=\"p-text\">It was at the Wexner&#8217;s Ohio home where Maria Farmer, of Paducah, Kentucky, accused Epstein and his partner\u00a0Ghislaine Maxwell of sexually assaulting her during the summer of 1996, according to an affidavit filed in federal court.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Farmer\u00a0first met Epstein and Maxwell in 1995 at an art show when she was in her mid-20s. Epstein told Farmer that if she sold him a painting at half price, he would help her with her career. Farmer\u00a0later took a job with Epstein, helping him to acquire art.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Epstein later arranged for Farmer to work on a special art project at Wexner&#8217;s Ohio mansion during the summer of 1996. She stayed at the property with her two younger brothers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">One day, Epstein and Maxwell visited Wexner&#8217;s mansion, asked Farmer to come into a bedroom and sexually assaulted her, according to the affidavit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">&#8220;I fled from the room and called the sheriff&#8217;s office but did not get any response,&#8221; Farmer wrote in the affidavit. &#8220;The Wexner&#8217;s security staff refused to let me leave the property.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Farmer alleges she was held against her will for 12 hours until she was ultimately allowed to leave with her father, who drove up from Kentucky to help her. When Farmer returned to New York City, she reported the assault to local police and the FBI but no charges were filed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">After that summer, Farmer says Epstein and Maxwell threatened her and cut off her access to art clients. &#8220;Maxwell and Epstein worked in concert to make sure that my career and my life was ruined,&#8221; she wrote.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The Enquirer reached out to Wexner for comment. A person close to the matter said\u00a0Wexner has no knowledge of the situation Farmer referenced.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">A Franklin County Sheriff&#8217;s Office spokesman said nothing was reported at the time, and they would have responded to any claim or complaint. Ohio has a 25-year statute of limitations on rape and a 20-year statute of limitations on other sex crimes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Farmer also alleged that Epstein and Maxwell molested her 15-year-old sister at their New Mexico ranch.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Farmer&#8217;s affidavit was part of a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cincinnati.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2019\/03\/06\/victim-of-sex-offender-jeffrey-epstein-committed-perjury-lawyer-alleges\/3068729002\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-track-label=\"inline|intext|n\/a\">complaint filed by Virginia\u00a0Giuffre against retired Harvard law professor\u00a0Alan Dershowitz<\/a>, accusing the attorney of acting as Epstein&#8217;s\u00a0co-conspirator.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cincinnati.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2019\/03\/06\/victim-of-sex-offender-jeffrey-epstein-committed-perjury-lawyer-alleges\/3068729002\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-track-label=\"inline|intext|n\/a\">Dershowitz<\/a>\u00a0has denied the allegations and accused Giuffre of perjury.<\/p>\n<p>___<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cincinnati.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2019\/07\/11\/how-ohios-richest-man-connected-jeffrey-epstein-financier-turned-sex-offender\/1701805001\/\">https:\/\/www.cincinnati.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2019\/07\/11\/how-ohios-richest-man-connected-jeffrey-epstein-financier-turned-sex-offender\/1701805001\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How Ohio&#8217;s richest man was connected to Jeffrey Epstein, financier turned sex offender Jessie Balmert, Cincinnati Enquirer COLUMBUS &#8211;\u00a0Financier Jeffrey Epstein,\u00a0arrested this week on child sex trafficking charges, was notoriously secretive about his billionaire client list, disclosing just one prominent &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=125095\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-125095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=125095"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125095\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=125095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=125095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=125095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}